Beware the Tired Eyes of March
The immediate days after the mid-March switch to daylight saving time (DST) may be the most perilous of the entire year.
Researchers Christopher Barnes and David Wagner of Michigan State University found that the number of workplace accidents jumps after the DST changes every March, when an hour of sleep is lost as clocks are moved ahead.
Using U.S. Department of Labor and Mine Safety and Health Administration data, they found that the switch to DST resulted in 40 minutes less sleep for American workers, a 5.7 percent increase in workplace injuries, and nearly 68 percent more work days lost to injuries.
But they found no significant increase in workplace accidents or sleep loss when the clocks were set back an hour in November.
The study was presented at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology’s annual conference in March, and will be published in the Journal of Applied Psychology.
photo credit: Phillie Casablanca